NEWS ROUND-UP


Virgin to add Next stores as HoF concessions close


Ben Ireland ben.ireland@travelweekly.co.uk


Virgin Holidays is to open more concessions in fashion retailer Next to keep a foothold in areas where its House of Fraser concessions are closing.


By early next year, the number


of Virgin agencies in Next stores is now set to be “in the mid-20s”, an increase on the 20 scheduled to be open by September. In the next two weeks, concessions will open at Next in Bournemouth, Enfield, Ipswich, Oxford and Southampton, taking the current number to 12. Additional sites are likely to open near the locations of the current Virgin concessions in six House of Fraser stores. The department store hit trouble earlier this year and announced that 31 of its 59 stores would shut. On Friday, Virgin confirmed the six concessions would still close despite a £90 million rescue deal led by Sports Direct and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, which could keep 47 stores open. Recruitment is under way and opportunities are available to members of Virgin Atlantic’s call centre in Crawley, which is due


Oceania unveils $100m revamp of Regatta-class ships


Oceania Cruises is to overhaul its four Regatta-class ships in a


$100 million revamp project. Insignia, Sirena, Regatta and


Nautica will be given 342 new designer suites and staterooms, while restaurants, lounges and


bars will also be revamped. Insignia will go into dry dock on


INSIGNIA: Vessel will be the first to go into dry dock in November


November 18 and return to service on December 7 this year. Sirena will return in May 2019, Regatta in September 2019 and Nautica in June 2020.


8 travelweekly.co.uk 16 August 2018 NEWS IN BRIEF


Three account managers join Gold Medal and Travel 2


Gold Medal and Travel 2 have recruited three key account managers. Rachael Belshaw (left), once of Attraction World, will cover the northeast and Yorkshire, while Thomas Cook’s Carmen Moreira (centre) will join to cover central England. Nichola Marston will support national accounts with head of national accounts Claire Weatherall.


Travel Franchise aims to recruit 400 by 2020


BANBURY: Dan Buckingham (third right) with team in Next concession 20


Virgin concessions in Next by September


to close. Dan Buckingham, Virgin Holidays head of retail, said: “Ideally we’ll have [the additional sites] all open by January as it’s a big month for the travel business, but in reality, some could be March. “The stores [in Next] are


performing well. We had some amazing stores in House of Fraser, and they will stay open until January, but it’s a moving beast and not something we can control.”


Buckingham said the number


of potential customers passing through Next stores with Virgin concessions could be as many as six million. At Debenhams, where Virgin has 38 concessions, the number of potential customers is closer to one million. “Next is not a department


store but is creating a similar model to maximise purchase time per customer. It is the biggest [concession] opportunity for us. We are unlike normal high street agencies and are always looking for the next big thing.” Virgin Holidays also has concessions in Sainsbury’s and Tesco supermarkets, standalone stores and flagship ‘v-rooms’.


Bob Binder, president and chief


executive, said: “They don’t build ships like these any more, which is why this reinspiration project is such an important milestone.” Bernard Carter, senior vice-


president and managing director for Europe and the Middle East, said: “The brand has evolved and it is time to move the Regatta-class to the next level. “We are moving the ships on


from being like a twee English hotel to a country club.”


The Travel Franchise aims to add 400 franchisees over the next two years as it targets 1,000 by 2020. The homeworking arm of agency Not Just Travel has signed up almost twice as many franchisees in the first half of this year as last, with 60 joining in the past three months. It now has more than 600 franchisees.


Hackers steal records of 34,000 Butlin’s customers


Butlin’s revealed the records of up to 34,000 customers may have been accessed by hackers last week. It said the stolen data did not include payment details, but customers’ names, holiday dates, postal and email addresses and phone numbers are thought to have been taken.


McIntyre leaves Hotelplan to be ski manager at Iglu


Hotelplan’s Simon McIntyre is to join Iglu in the newly- created role of general manager, ski. The group


head of sales for Inghams, Ski Total and Esprit has been with the operator for nine years. Hotelplan is looking to appoint McIntyre’s replacement.


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